Technology companies, no matter their size or location, are never tired of talking about "innovation" and claiming that they have contributed to making the world a better place.
But in the light of recent events — indeed, events during the whole of this year — it might well be time for these self-promoters to take a pause, reflect on the mess they have created and try to repair the damage.
Deloitte, described by Wikipedia as "one of the 'Big Four' accounting firms and the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of professionals, reported a hack this week.
It turns out that this breach occurred last year and the company only found out in March. So far, Deloitte has remained silent about the hack, with not a single public statement about what happened – even though it is said to have been investigating the hack at least since it was discovered.
{loadposition sam08}Credentials for the company have been floating around on GitHub for some time. This is a company that advises others on security. And its developers appear to be the ones who have uploaded these credentials to the Web.
Deloitte appears to be more interested in painting the hack as one that affected a small number of accounts. The truth appears to be the exact opposite.
Equifax is another case in point which illustrates the mess that exists. The company has put the data of up to 143 million Americans at risk, following a data leak.
One can go on and on – WannaCry, NotPetya (or whatever you want to call it), Viacom leaving data unsecured on the Web like many others, Apple (which claims to be a company that puts security first) releasing software without fixing serious bugs...
It all illustrates one thing: a serious level of incompetence in the technology industry.
And let's not forget Microsoft, the Typhoid Mary of the Internet, which was the forerunner of all this mess, creating and forcing on people software that resembles Swiss cheese more than Swiss cheese does itself.
The man chiefly responsible for that mess, Bill Gates, is today the richest man in the world. Meanwhile, Windows, his creation, is being hacked all over the world. He certainly has a lot to be proud about.
The men (and yes, it mostly middle-aged white men) who head these companies have made millions, if not billions, by selling — nay, leasing — software to the common man that is as safe as lighting a match and placing it on a petrol-drenched human hand.
And still they keep talking of how good life will be when the next iteration of whatever garbage they sell is out - and selling for inflated prices.
The public are suckers. They buy that next iteration – and sometimes stand in queue for hours to do so.
It is high time to put on the brakes and start fixing the mess. It is also time for people to start calling the mess for what it is and naming names. Tech people have got a free ride all along, by tricking people into believing into they are leading the way to nirvana.
All they have done is created an enormous mess where nobody is safe anymore.
The call should go out – physician, heal thyself.